Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Seamen's Articles of Agreement Convention, 1926 (No. 22) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1963)

Article 3(1) of the Convention. Signature of a seafarers’ employment agreement. The Committee notes that section 286 of the Merchant Navy Code, established by Act No. 95-009 of 31 January 1995, provides that the employment agreement must be clearly worded and such as to leave the parties in no doubt over their respective rights and obligations, especially with regard to the length and type of the contract, but does not provide that the seafarer must have facilities to examine the employment agreement before signing it, as prescribed by the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that the seafarer, and possibly his adviser, has the possibility of examining the employment agreement before signing it, and that the seafarer understands its terms, as required by the Convention. The Committee recalls that the provisions of Article 3(1) of the Convention have been reproduced in Regulation 2.1(2), and Standard A2.1(1)(a), (b) of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), which aim to ensure that the seafarer has an opportunity to examine and seek advice on the terms and conditions in the employment agreement and freely accepts them before signing.

Article 6(3)(2) and (11). Particulars to be included in the employment agreement. The Committee notes that the Merchant Navy Code does not provide for the compulsory inclusion in the seafarers’ employment agreement of the date when the agreement was signed and details of annual leave with pay. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that the seafarers’ employment agreement is obliged to contain these various particulars, as required by the Convention. It recalls that the list of particulars contained in Article 6(3) of the Convention corresponds to a large degree to the one established by Standard A2.1(4) of the MLC, 2006, which also prescribes the inclusion of information on the health and social security protection benefits to be provided to the seafarer by the shipowner, the seafarer’s entitlement to repatriation and, if applicable, reference to the relevant collective bargaining agreement. The Committee hopes that the Government will ensure the implementation of this Article of the Convention in such a way as to also facilitate the application of the corresponding provisions of the MLC, 2006.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including details of the number of seafarers enlisted per year, an example of a standard seafarers’ employment agreement, if it exists, the number of reported infringements of the provisions of national law giving effect to the Convention and the corrective measures taken.

Finally, the Committee recalls that Convention No. 22, as well as 36 other international maritime labour Conventions, is revised by the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006). Most of the provisions of this Convention have been incorporated without any significant changes in Regulation 2.1 and the corresponding Code of the MLC, 2006, and therefore ensuring compliance with Convention No. 22 would facilitate compliance with respective provisions of the MLC, 2006. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed on any steps taken or envisaged for the ratification and effective implementation of the MLC, 2006.